Talent Search Program
Funds Talent Search projects that identify and support disadvantaged students in completing secondary school, accessing financial aid, and entering postsecondary education.
⚑ Program is administered by DOL on behalf of ED but funds postsecondary access/outreach services, not research. · Eligibility is not specified in the notice excerpt; see full announcement for applicant classes.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 32 weak | outside portfolio topics; signature methods: community engaged; social/behavioral work is minor; funds service delivery, not research (capped); eligibility unclear — verify in the NOFO |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 10 none | technical depth: minor; funds service delivery (capped) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | no commercialization signal |
Description
The Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor (Labor), is soliciting applications in support of the administration of the Talent Search Program (TS) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The purpose of the Talent Search Program is to identify qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with potential for education at the postsecondary level and encourage them to complete secondary school and undertake postsecondary education. Talent Search projects publicize the availability of, and facilitate the application for, student financial assistance for persons who seek to pursue postsecondary education, and encourage persons who have not completed programs at the secondary or postsecondary level to enter or reenter and complete these programs.We encourage prospective applicants and interested parties to use the Grants.gov subscription option to register for future updates provided for this particular Announcement Notification and Instructions.
Eligibility
See Announcement Notification and Instructions for specific eligibility information.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Office of Postsecondary Education <reshone.moore@ed.gov; ben.witthoefft@ed.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.
Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
12/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This is primarily a student outreach, counseling, and postsecondary access program, not a research opportunity. It may involve program administration or services for disadvantaged youth, but it does not center on the kinds of policy, behavioral, survey, or technical-socioeconomic research IPPRA leads. Eligibility is also unclear from the notice, and there is no evident fit with IPPRA’s portfolio areas.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 12 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is primarily a student outreach, counseling, and postsecondary access program, not a research opportunity. It may involve program administration or services for disadvantaged youth, but it does not center on the kinds of policy, behavioral, survey, or technical-socioeconomic research IPPRA leads. Eligibility is also unclear from the notice, and there is no evident fit with IPPRA’s portfolio areas. |
| 2026-07-06 | 10 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is an education access and college-readiness program, not a research opportunity aligned with IPPRA’s core portfolio areas. While IPPRA could potentially contribute evaluation or survey expertise, the topic is outside weather/climate, energy, national security, public health, and environmental policy. Eligibility is unclear from the notice, but nothing indicates a public research university as a primary applicant or research partner in a way that would raise the score. |